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Note: Nathaniel Johnson was born in Ireland in the year of 1768; When three years old his parents brought him to America and settled in Pennsylvania not far from the town of Carlyle. It was a perfect wilderness then and very few neighbors; none nearer than a mile. they marked the trees from one house to another by cutting off the bark so that the wood would show, by that way they could get from one house to another without getting lost. They had five Miles to go to church and the way they had of going was to walk ride (two on one horse) He had two younger brothers. When he was eight or ten years old he had to keep his brothers while his parents went to church; wolves, bears and panthers were plentiful in the woods then so it was not safe for them to venture far from the house. They often kept great big fires burning made out of logs and brush to keep them away for wild animals are very much afraid of fire.
When he was about ten years old the father and mother went on Saturday to Church. They were to have communion on the Sabbath and the mother not being able to walk that distance two day together, they stayed all night near the church, the father coming home to the little boys. After supper, he went out to cut a tree down not far from the house. He was clearing out some to farm. The tree fell differently from what he expected and fell on him killing him. Poor boy; night coming on and his father lying dead under the big tree, too far and too late for him to go for anyone. The wolves a barking and the panthers crying, it would not do for him to leave his little brothers of safe for him to go; but oh what could he do to protect his father's body from the wild animals. He made his brother sit in the door while He threw brush on the logs that were burning in the little clearing around the house. He worked until it began to get dark. He put his brothers to bed and then his little heart gave way and he cried until he too began to get sleepy, but that would never do to sleep and let the hungry wolves get papa.
So he went to work again and kept dragging brush and sticks and throwing on the fire nearest to where his body lay. It was summer and the nights short; just at daylight a man came along hunting his cow and saw the trouble. He went and got some more men and got the body into the house; then went for the mother.
Not long after a little sister came to their house. He worked in summer and helped his mother to keep the family and went to school in winter until he got so he could teach.
When he was thirty-five years old he married Nancy Carson. To them eleven children were born:
James Johnson married Elizabeth Thomason William Johnson married Fanny Wilson Nathaniel Johnson died when a few months old Henry Johnson married Jane Claybaugh Sarah Johnson married John Thompson Nathaniael Johnson died at 28 years Samuel Johnson married Eliza Carson John Johnson married Rebecca Herron Nannie Johnson died at the age of 67 years Margaret Johnson married Robert McCommon
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